Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop
by KrisRide94
Summary: AU. Rachel Berry had never met anyone quite like Quinn Fabray. Even in New York City, where diversity and color seemed to blossom at every corner – there was definitely something to be said for down home charm. And that was exactly what Quinn had. The southern native had Rachel head over heels. Luckily for both of them, falling in love at a coffee shop is only the beginning.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop  
**Pairing:** Eventual Faberry, with possible others.  
**Rating:** Slightly PG-13, there's mentions of sex - to an extent.  
**Summary:** Rachel Berry had never met anyone quite like Quinn Fabray. Even in New York City, where diversity and color seemed to blossom at every corner – there was definitely something to be said for down home charm. And that was exactly what Quinn had. The southern native with the striking eyes, throaty drawl, and gold spun locks had Rachel head over heels. If only she could muster up the courage to let her know, between fumbled attempts at introducing herself during her shifts at the local coffee shop and her carefully planned self-introductions between rehearsals for her role in the Winter showcase at Tisch and she can never seem to get the timing right. Luckily, Quinn is not immune to the adorably quirky charm of the Ohio native and falling in love at a coffee shop is only the beginning.

**Notes:** I was playing around with a writing prompt generator and got a short phrase: "The colloquialisms became more colorful with every glass of wine." Somehow, that evolved into this and it's kind of unexpected and I've never written anything like this before but I think it'll be fun. I hope you guys stick with me! This chapter is essentially Rachel's point of view.

* * *

**Chapter One**

Rachel Berry had never expected to fall in love with a complete stranger.

Well, she had never really expected the exact scenario in which she would fall in love to begin with, and the reality she was faced with was so much more bizarre than anything she could ever have hoped to imagine during her teenaged years flicking through magazines with breathy sighs on her lips and hopes twittering about above her head. The reality was so much sweeter than anything she could have previously imagined and on the same note it was one of the most frustratingly torturous things she had ever experienced. Of course, that was partially her fault. Falling for the gorgeous Southern belle who frequented the small coffee shop Rachel had been working for since her second month in New York City almost four years before. Oh yes, that had been entirely her fault. Not that anyone could blame her, not when she considered just how wonderful the woman she'd fallen for really was.

Or, how wonderful Rachel assumed she was – seeing as the brunette herself could never seem to muster up the courage to speak to the woman when she saw her every morning like clockwork before her morning rehearsals. Every attempt left her with flushed cheeks and a distinct thought that whatever usual bravado she possessed seemed to flee like a frightened rabbit at the sight of the blonde – which was really, just her luck.

Of course, falling in love at a coffee shop wasn't the most ludicrous thing she'd ever done. If only she could introduce herself to the gorgeous stranger that captivated her waking moments.

If only.

...

It had gotten to the point where Rachel even dreamt about the stranger. Pale hands ghosting over her skin with the most loving of caresses, memorizing and tracing her curves with a patient conviction that often left the young songstress a panting mess of pleasure and half mumbled pleas – at least until the dreams ended and left her lying in bed frustrated six ways to Sunday.

This particular Tuesday morning was no different, and Rachel was no more amused by it than usual.

She groaned into her pillow as she rolled over onto her back, pulling the pillow with her as she grumbled to herself for several seconds before she tossed the pillow away with a particularly disgruntled huff. A familiar head of flaxen hair poked around the corner and Rachel found herself staring at her best friend in the entire world, and roommate throughout college.

"Everything okay, Rach?" Brittany asked sweetly, her normally brightly expressive features clouded with concern.

Rachel couldn't help but smile as she fumbled her way out of bed and greeted Brittany with a routine hug and kiss on the cheek, "Everything's perfectly fine, Britt. Just had a bit of a… frustrating dream again." She explained simply, flushing lightly because she was entirely positive Brittany was going to know exactly what she had been dreaming about and although they were both twenty-one, the subject of sex always left Rachel embarrassed and Brittany more than thoroughly amused.

"The sexy one you mean?" Brittany nodded sagely and smiled, "You really should just talk to her, Rach. I bet she totally won't mind and you don't actually have to tell her you're like… super head over heels for her and stuff, y'know."

The young woman ducked her head and flashed Brittany an uncharacteristically demure smile, "It's not that easy, sweetie, and believe me, I really wish it was but I can't seem to manage two words around her so I don't see anything happening any time soon."

The dancer seemed to consider this for a moment before she shrugged and kissed Rachel's cheek again, "You won't know until you try, but okay. I'm going to shower before my class, and I took out stuff for you to make breakfast!" With that the blonde turned in the direction of the bathroom with a skip in her step and a cheerful smile, prompting an adoring grin from Rachel.

Rachel and Brittany had been roommates since their freshman year at Tisch, and although Rachel hadn't really seen eye to eye with the bubbly blonde at first, she quickly grew to respect her dancing ability and soon after, her personality as a whole. They seemed to balance one another out more often than not; Brittany was light hearted where Rachel was intense, bubbly where she was serious, open where she was guarded and a whole other range of things that made them absolutely perfect friends. It also helped that they'd spent nearly all of their free time together over the years due to various shows they'd both been hired to or auditioned for or anything of the sort.

This closeness was what had prevented them from living with anyone else their sophomore year that slowly bled into their junior and finally senior year sharing a loft in Greenwich village two blocks from campus and one block from their respective places of employment.

Speaking of employment; Rachel's eyes drifted to the cat clock in their living room and smiled, just enough time to make breakfast before she left – she wasn't sure how she still managed to have such a sense of punctuality even with alarms. Even her dreams were becoming anal retentive. Wonderful. She shook her head at her train of thought and set about making breakfast for the two of them, her usual role as chef was a simple one, and she'd become relatively decent at cooking following a debacle with a pan that caught fire, but really that hadn't been her fault and she would assert that until her dying breath. The part of her morning spent with Brittany seemed to blur by and before she knew it she was tying an apron around her waist and calling good mornings to her fellow staff members at the Jumping Bean, the quaint little coffee shop she'd found herself employed at during her second month at Tisch.

She glanced at the clock again – 8:37, the stranger that was a leading feature in most of her thoughts would show up in exactly twenty three minutes. She was never late and ordered the same thing every morning – Rachel had to appreciate the routine, and she'd memorized it almost two weeks before, much to the amusement of Kurt Hummel, her work friend turned good friend.

"Every morning, Rachel. You check that clock every morning and I don't know why, she'll be in soon, and we both know that." Kurt announced as he passed change along to their current customer and sent him on his way with a soft smile and a cheerful send off.

"It's a habit; you know that as well as I do. I don't understand why you insist on teasing me about it every day." She retorted with a blush, half-heartedly glaring at the man.

He grinned and winked in return, "It's vastly entertaining to watch you fumble around like a fourteen year old boy because she gets you so tongue tied," He leaned in and smiled, "Her name is Quinn, by the way. You asked the other day, I'm delivering."

"Quinn…" Rachel repeated the woman's name softly, smiling to herself as it floated over her tongue and out into the air. Quinn. What a lovely name, it was fitting really, lovely and regal and different and everything Rachel had imagined the woman… Quinn… to be. God, she was ridiculous, freaking out over a simple name – well, maybe it wasn't ridiculous. Love did interesting things to people, the least of which caused them to love absolutely everything about the person the emotion was directed towards and Rachel was already at that point. She'd fallen in love with a beautiful stranger and…

Her half dopey smile only became more pronounced at the sight of the woman who held her heart… being trailed after by a striking Latina who seemed to be holding her attention almost entirely. Rachel's heart sank to her shoes in less than two seconds and she shook her head firmly, she was _not_ jumping to conclusions. Not now, not when she could have been so close to meeting the love of her life, especially not then. She ducked away from the register and Kurt rolled his eyes and stepped up to the counter to take her order, turning his back to her as she moved to make sure there was nothing in the back that needed checking. She peered around the corner almost nervously as she brought pastries to the front of the shop and set about arranging them as she listened to Kurt converse with the angel at the counter. Quinn's voice was soft and just the slightest bit raspy, her words dripping with the subtle accent that would only become more noticeable with the little colloquialisms that fell from her lips every so often. Rachel listened to her speak and couldn't help but smile – yet another thing she needed to add to the list of things she was in love with, the woman's voice had her enamored above all else and she wondered how beautiful her own name might sound falling from such perfect lips.

She opened her mouth to speak as Kurt started to collect change from the register and had nearly half a syllable formed on her lips before vibrant hazel eyes met her own and all coherent thought she'd had flew out the window, leaving her gaping at Quinn with the same half formed, dopey smile she often wore at the sight of the woman. The blonde smiled at Kurt as she took the change and again turned her gaze on Rachel, offering the young actress a beauteous smile before she turned away and headed back towards the corner booth that she always occupied.

Kurt chuckled when Quinn was finally out of ear shot, "Well, no one can say you didn't try." He announced, laughing harder when she swung at him with the dishrag clutched firmly in her hands.

Rachel Berry – 0, Quinn's smile – Priceless.

...

Rehearsal was always one of Rachel's favorite parts of the day; it was a stress relief, a time to bond with her classmates – a bit fat distraction from the glory that was Quinn. And that was definitely a needed thing most of the time considering Rachel's thoughts were usually dominated by Quinn with snippets of school to bridge the gaps.

"Hey, Rach! How was work?" Brittany hugged her loosely as they walked on stage to begin stretches – they were rehearsing for the Winter show the drama and dance departments put on in tandem and it was one of the most enriching things Rachel could ever remember experiencing. That and the simple thought that if it actually went well, she could potentially get an audition for Broadway and that was something she longed for like nothing else. Well, almost nothing else.

"Work was…" She trailed off in thought before she smiled, "Work was great. Her name is Quinn!" She announced happily, eliciting a smile from Brittany.

"Did you finally talk to her?" She asked excitedly, gesturing happily before tilting her head at the slight fade of Rachel's smile. "I'll take that one as a no. Oh well, you'll get her next time."

Rachel nodded simply; she would most certainly talk to Quinn the next chance she got – which, as routine suggested would be tomorrow morning. Oh dear, she had less than a day to plan out just how she was going to introduce herself. Would just her name suffice? Did she need to be more extravagant than that?

What if Quinn already knew her name? She did have to wear a name tag after all. Damn it all, introducing oneself to the person they were in love with was infinitely harder than she'd ever imagined. She could always just buck up and take Quinn's order next time, as she should have been doing every shift since the blonde had started to frequent the shop. Kurt was a saint for taking her place, if only for the moment but at some point she had to buck up and do it herself! She was Rachel Berry, gosh darn it and if there was one thing she knew how to do, it was make an impression.

And damn it if she wasn't determined to make the most lasting impression on Quinn. She had to, really.

She was going to go insane otherwise.

...

"Do you think I should even bother trying to talk to her? What if she's already taken? What if she's not even interested?" Rachel spouted off questions left and right in between bites of vegan Thai and glanced at Brittany who was currently blinking at her past her own food and considering the questions as she chewed slowly.

"I think you're over thinking this, Rach. I know I'm not really like, the smartest person in the world, but… you love Quinn. That's… like really freaking obvious – it would totally be easier to write it on a billboard than anything else because it's that noticeable." She paused briefly and smiled fondly as Rachel began to blush, "And like I said this morning, you're never going to know if you don't try. For all you know, she could like you just as much and you'll never actually know because every time you try to talk to her you get a frog in your throat and it all goes downhill from there." She finished with a slight nod.

"So…?" Rachel trailed off, the final inflection of her tone conveying almost every measure of uncertainty she felt about the situation – and then some. If it was nerve wracking to be in love, then it was absolute torture to be in love with someone you'd never even truly met.

"So…" Brittany repeated with a giggle, "So I think you should go for it." She asserted, grinning as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

A slow nod was all she received in return and Brittany laughed again, "You're going to be super nervous no matter what, so just think of it like… the opening curtain call. You're nervous, and you feel kinda like you might hurl all over the front row if you're not careful, but as soon as you start – it's the most amazing thing you've ever felt and you can't really do anything but lose yourself in the moment. Then afterwards you wonder why you were so nervous in the first place because there was really never any reason to be." She smiled softly, "Does that help?"

Rachel laughed and nodded, "It helps more than you know, Britt. You're a genius, I mean it."

The blonde flushed lightly and grinned, "I have to look out for you somehow, don't I?"

...

Wednesday morning was one like any other Rachel had ever experienced, with but one slight difference. This particular Wednesday morning, she was a woman on a mission. She was going to introduce herself to Quinn if it was the last thing she did before the end of her shift, she really didn't care how much of a fool she could potentially make of herself – she had been avoiding this for what felt like years and she was tired of it. She was braver than this and if it wasn't a question of bravery, then it was a question of her own determination and that was not something she could stand to have questioned at any time.

She grinned at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, there was something about today that just felt… different. Like the air was charged with promise or something. She hoped beyond all reason that that was the case, she needed all the help she could get at this point – anything that would prevent her from turning into a mute mess at the sight of Quinn would be greatly appreciated.

Other than that, she sent off a general prayer to the sky and headed for the Jumping Bean, greeting Kurt with a bright hello as she stepped behind the counter. "Someone's in a good mood this morning." He remarked with a smile, studying her curiously for a long moment, "Did you get laid?"

She rolled her eyes, "No, I did not… get laid. I'm just… in a good mood, that's all it is." He nodded slowly as if he did not actually believe her and turned back to his task as the bell above the door jingled – signaling the arrival of a customer, it was Quinn.

Rachel's bright smiled returned and she took a breath as the blonde neared the counter.

It was now or never.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop  
**Pairing:** Eventual Faberry, with possible others.  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** See Chapter one.

**Notes:** This chapter is meant to be running parallel to the first, meaning, as everything in the first chapter is happening to Rachel - everything in this chapter is happening to Quinn. There is some overlap, that is entirely purposeful. Also, a note of warning - I'm not yet used to writing Santana and I'm still trying to develop her for this story, so bear with me as that happens.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Quinn Fabray had never expected to be in New York City in the first place – let alone be so attached to it that she never wanted to leave. She'd also never expected to develop feelings for a complete stranger, let alone someone she still hadn't managed to bring herself to speak to.

When she really considered it, both of those things were shaping her life in a way she had never expected but ultimately adored with every experience she had. Her choice to attend New York University had been an unexpected one, born of a desire to get out of Nashville; away from all of the hoity toity businessmen and Southern Belles, and housewives and everything she could remember from her childhood in the city. Although that wasn't to say she hadn't enjoyed her childhood, no, that wasn't the case at all – in fact, Quinn had adored every second of her upbringing and the one thing that had almost kept her from pursuing further education in the city was her parents. As of late, she'd been looking back on that fateful decision with nothing more than a smile and the knowledge that the life she'd built for herself since her initial move three years ago was one she never wanted to let go of.

She had made some of the most amazing friends she'd ever had living in the city. If only she could work up the nerve to talk to the gorgeous girl at the Jumping Bean – then everything would be just a little more perfect.

Luckily, if there was anything a Fabray had in bulk – it was sheer nerve and determination, and Quinn was more than ready to use hers to full advantage.

...

A persistent knocking roused Quinn from her slumber on Tuesday morning, prompting a low groan from the blonde and a half annoyed glance at her bedroom door; she was many things but a morning person was not one of them. "Wha' d'ya wan'?" She called lowly, her accent always seemed to be in full effect when she was tired and now was no exception – a small part of her hoped it was only one of her friends and one of her best ones at that. "I'm coming in, Q! You better be decent!"

She rolled her eyes and smiled in amusement at the sound of Santana's voice and pushed herself into a sitting position as her best friend entered the room, "Damn Q, you look like the queen of the jungle or some shit." Santana joked with a smirk as she climbed into the bed.

"Mhm, 's your fault for keepin' me up so late last night." Quinn retorted with a half-smile, they'd been up studying for a good majority of the night and although she would usually be up by that point in the morning, she felt as though her exhaustion had finally taken its toll and even sitting in bed with Santana, who looked personally ready to drag her out of bed, all she wanted to do was fall back and sleep for another week.

"Get your ass outta bed, WASP, we're going for a coffee run and I know you need your fix of the Dwarf before we get to Mikelson's pols lecture."

She rolled her eyes and shoved Santana's shoulder lightly, "Stop calling her that and it's not… getting a fix of her, I just… need caffeine." She replied simply, ducking her head as she felt her face burn followed by Santana's laugh in response. "A likely story, blondie. Seriously, get ready to go. I needs my coffee."

"Mhm, right. Well, get your butt out of my room so I can get changed and we'll see what we can do about coffee." Quinn replied immediately, smiling at her best friend as she retreated from the southerner's bedroom.

Quinn and Santana had met at a frat party during their freshman year among the booze and blaring music and general stupidity college parties seemed to attract in force – it hadn't been a particularly nice meeting, as Quinn in her haste to get the hell away from all of the drunken frat boys flirting with her had knocked Santana over entirely and received a tongue lashing the likes of which she had never experienced. Santana hadn't said a word to her after the scolding, simply turned on her heel and left Quinn flustered and embarrassed by the situation in its entirety; of course, Quinn being the kind of person she was made it her mission to track Santana down again during normal class hours to apologize for knocking her over in the first place – their second encounter was the essential beginning of their friendship after Santana had given her a once over, rolled her eyes and introduced herself before inviting Quinn to study with her.

As luck would have it, both of them were at least somewhat interested in performing and their classes tended to cross over at least to some extent throughout the course of their freshman year. The relationship they built then served them well and there was rarely a moment where they were without one another, excluding classes as their majors and curriculum's had started to differ following the spring semester of their sophomore years at NYU. At that point, they were roommates along with one of their closest classmates – Sam Evans – who had attempted to court Quinn during their freshman year before she came out to him and he settled for being more of a protective best friend than anything else. She glanced at her desk clock with a soft sigh and finally rolled out of bed, suddenly eager to get the hell out of their apartment and on her way to the Jumping Bean, where the current object of her affections was due to arrive any time.

Perhaps "object of affection" wasn't quite the correct term. No, it didn't seem to be a term strong enough for Quinn to accurately describe her feelings towards the adorable woman who worked at the coffee shop – she still hadn't learned her name, considering the girl in question seemed to disappear every time Quinn entered the establishment and she'd gotten practically familiarly acquainted with Kurt – the boy who worked the register every time she showed up to get coffee, which she had been doing for what felt like forever in her mind. As generally confident as she was, she couldn't seem to work up the nerve to introduce herself to the dark eyed beauty that had made a comfortable home in her thoughts – something that baffled her to no end and gave Santana endless ammunition with which to tease her mercilessly. That wasn't to say she hadn't tried of course, it was simply that every attempt she'd made had resulted in failure either because of the simple fact the girl seemed to vanish whenever she was around or Quinn chickened out entirely and retreated back to her usual table with the sound of Santana's barely disguised snickering echoing in her ears.

Another round of sharp knocks on her door and she was quickly and effectively detached from her previous thoughts, calling for Santana to hold her horses as she proceeded to get dressed and finally left her bedroom for their living room, much to Santana's obviously relief. "Finally! I swear waiting for you to get ready is like waiting for concrete to set, let's get outta here." The brunette all but whined for a moment before she flashed Quinn a small smile and called a goodbye to Sam – who responded with a very groggy goodbye in return.

"Did you wake Sam up to? San, that's rude – he doesn't even have class today." Quinn mused as they headed for the Jumping Bean. The Latina simply offered her a shrug in response, "If we have to be up right now, I figure the least I could do was make sure Trouty didn't waste his entire day sleeping like we both know he would have if it wasn't for me." She smirked after a moment and Quinn couldn't help but smile in amusement – she'd certainly managed to pick some interesting friends.

She flashed a quick glance at her watch and ignored the amused look Santana flashed her in response to the action – it was 8:40 at that point and if her calculations were even slightly correct, they would reach the coffee shop at exactly nine o'clock – the same time they arrived every morning like clockwork. There was definitely something to be said for following a routine and coffee at nine o'clock had become one of Quinn's most cherished ones – if only because it gave her a chance to prepare for the rest of the day as well as an opportunity to make headway in the strange relationship she had with the barista girl.

"You're completely obsessed, do you know that? I mean, seriously, it almost borders on psychotic, Q. You sure you have pure intentions with the Dwarf? I mean, she does totally look like she could be a bait girl on To Catch a Predator." Santana commented idly as they neared the shop, turning on her heel as Quinn stopped walking entirely and fixed her with a glare cold enough to freeze molten steel. "Stop saying those things would you? This is difficult enough for me without your stupid comments, Santana. You know I love you but dear Lord almighty I'm about ready to smack you and you know full well I hate physical confrontation. So, please, kindly shut up about her and my feelings for her. I know it's not normal, okay? I know that. I don't need you to parrot that in my ear every five minutes just to make sure I haven't forgotten." She all but growled her words at her friend and Santana raised her hands in an obviously placating gesture, "Alright, I'm sorry." She murmured sincerely, eliciting a sheepish look from the blonde.

"I am too... I just... I know it's not the most normal thing in the world, to develop feelings for someone you've never actually met but please, keep the teasing to a minimum? I can only handle so much at a time."

Santana cracked a slight smile and reached out to squeeze Quinn's hand as she nodded, "I know, I'm sorry. You know I can't help myself sometimes." She replied seriously, this time earning a full blown smile from her best friend, "I know that, S. It's okay."

Santana nodded and smirked after a short moment, "I know. Now go get me my coffee, bitch, this is too much this early in the morning." She quipped as they settled down at their usual table before Quinn laughed and turned back towards the register to order their drinks. Her friendship with Santana was one of the most cherished things in her life, but damn it if they didn't get on each other's nerves six ways to Sunday sometimes. With that thought in mind she greeted Kurt with a soft smile and a kind word as they conversed about various goings on in the city before she relayed her usual order to the pale eyed boy even as her eyes wandered in search of his coworker. They fell on her after a short moment, as the clinking of coins in the cash register sounded around them Quinn felt her breath catch minutely in her throat at the sight of the young woman so very close to her. Her dark eyes met Quinn's shyly a moment later as she took the change from Kurt and a soft, adoring smile came to life on the blonde's lips before she knew what was happening.

Her eyes drifted quickly to the name tag pinned on the girl's apron... Rachel, what a lovely name for such a lovely woman; she nearly murmured it aloud and surmised that she would have if Kurt hadn't been calling for her attention with the coffees clutched in his hands and a smile that she thought might have actually looked somewhat amused. She turned again as she took the drinks and felt a slight pang of disappointment at the realization that the girl… that Rachel had seemingly disappeared again. She turned back towards their table wearing what she thought might have been the silliest smile she'd ever managed – she may not have been able to introduce herself but at the very least she knew the beauty's name.

She felt Santana's eyes on her as she passed off one of the coffees and Quinn settled into the booth opposite Santana silently before another bright smile bloomed on her lips and she met her friend's eyes with an excited expression, "Her name is Rachel." She explained happily.

Rachel. What a lovely name.

...

It was becoming increasingly difficult for Quinn to pay proper attention to anything going on in class, let alone anything they were studying in political science – which was one of the drollest subjects she had ever studied, regardless of the fact that she tended to find certain aspects of it completely captivating. This time, however, her thoughts seemed to revolve around Rachel in their entirety no matter how hard she tried to steer her mind to a different subject. It was as though there was some sort of magnet keeping her from diverting any thought about the woman she had found herself falling for over the last several weeks. This was a problem if there ever was one because now that her thoughts had settled there, they were beginning to concoct schemes centered on finally introducing herself to Rachel.

Usually she would have absolutely no trouble introducing herself to a woman – a smooth introduction in a slightly more pronounced version of her accent and women were practically reduced to hormone puddles at her feet, something she wanted to avoid with Rachel entirely.

That wasn't to say that it wouldn't be interesting to get that sort of reaction out of Rachel, but Quinn wanted the woman to get a more genuine picture of her – something other than the sexy southerner looking to pick up on a stranger for no other reason than because she could. No, that wasn't the kind of impression she wanted to make at all. She drew her lip between her teeth as she thought, perhaps simply giving Rachel her name and phone number would be enough? Or maybe that was far too forward and only her name would be appropriate towards the situation. She all but huffed at the thought and frowned as the schemes slowly became more asinine as the class dragged on – screw it, she thought finally, one way or another she was going to introduce herself to Rachel.

She was dragged from her thoughts the second time that day at the sight of a familiar hand waving in front of her face, "What's up, San?" She asked reflexively, glancing up at her friend with a quirked eyebrow. "Class is over, nerd – you were spaced out harder than I am when you decide to watch Nicholas Sparks movies and even Mikelson's checked out at this point. What the hell were you thinking about?"

Quinn blushed brightly and shrugged, "Just trying to figure out how to introduce myself to Rachel." She explained shyly, blushing even brighter and the smirk Santana shot her.

"Of course you were. All you have to do is say hi, moron, it's not rocket science. Just make sure you don't ask her to jump your bones, or confuse her with one of your Hicktown USA phrases. Just chill and it'll happen the way it happens."

"You're so very helpful." Quinn grumbled as she collected her things, earning her a wink from Santana, "I know – one of the many reasons you keep me around."

...

Wednesday morning rolled around before Quinn knew it and she woke on her own wearing a smile that she was sure made her look like an idiot or something – Santana didn't actually have class on Wednesday's and Quinn herself only had one, which meant she would be on her own for morning coffee. Something she was entirely happy about considering she planned on finally introducing herself to Rachel and if anything went wrong she didn't really want anyone else to be there to witness it, especially not either of her roommates. Her usual morning routine seemed to drag on and by the time she finally left the apartment, she felt both monumentally determined and incredibly nervous at the potential events of the morning. Things either went well and she came one step closer to getting to know the woman she was in love with, or things went absolutely horribly and she would trudge off to her class desolately and try to forget about Rachel immediately.

She shook her head sharply as she pushed open the door and stepped into the warm shop with the accompanying jingle of bells and a cursory glance towards the front counter to find that it was Rachel, not Kurt waiting to take her order. A warm smile found its way to her lips and she mentally rejoiced, so far, so good.

She greeted Rachel with a simple good morning and rattled off her coffee order like she did every morning, smiling yet again when she retrieved her change and Rachel opened her mouth to speak, "If you'd like to take a seat, I'd be more than happy to bring you your order when it's ready. Kurt can man the register if needed, but, as you can clearly tell – we don't have many customers at the moment."

Quinn blinked in surprise before she nodded simply, "Oh, thank you very much, that would be lovely." She replied simply, flashing Rachel one last smile before she turned to sit at her usual booth – wondering what had made the brunette offer to bring her coffee to her, it wasn't as though that was normal procedure. She found herself lost in thought yet again until a shadow crossed her field of vision and she glanced up to meet Rachel's eyes with a warm smile, "Do you mind if I…?" The smaller woman trailed off and gestured toward the seat opposite her and Quinn smiled in response, "No, not at all," She paused for a moment before she held out her hand in greeting, "I'm Quinn, by the way. Quinn Fabray."

Rachel took her hand without hesitation and Quinn felt a charge in the air, "Rachel Berry, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Eight words from Rachel and Quinn was absolutely certain; falling in love at a coffee shop was the best decision she'd ever made.


End file.
